Posted
by
Unknown Lamer
on Friday March 07, 2014 @12:22PM
from the gnu-slash-grandma dept.

First time accepted submitter BlazeMiskulin writes "With XP approaching end-of-life, I find myself in a situation that I'm guessing is common: What to do with Mom's machine (or 'grandma's machine' for the younger of you). Since a change has to be made, this seems like a good time to move to a Linux distro. My mother (82) uses her computer for e-mail and web-browsing only. I know that any distro will be able to handle her needs. I've been using Linux (Ubuntu, CentOS, and Redhat--usually with KDE interface) for about 10 years now, but I know that my preferences are quite different from hers.

I have my own ideas, but I'm curious what others think: What combination of distro and UI would you recommend for an old, basic-level user who is accustomed to the XP interface and adverse to change?"
My Grandmother seems happy running KDE on Debian.

Go with what my grandma uses: OpenBSD. tmux is a good enough desktop for the elderly. If you're wise, you'll help her keep that old brain limping along by making her compile everything herself. When she calls with questions, rip her apart for being too lazy to read the man pages. She may be on her last legs, but that's when you push them the hardest.